Demon's Serenade
by Keo Siph
Summary: AUCrossover Real Bout High School meets YYH... I finally completed the Saint Beast Saga, so I'll start on the Yukina Saga sometime.
1. DS Saga III I Into the City of Demons

Demon's Serenade - Chapter 1 - 12/28/03

Author's Notes: Sorry for not updating for a long time… The lack of reviews really hurt, so I just gave up… however, I got a review! I got a review! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! I will continue! I'm pulling it of the dogpile of fanfics to continue (the rest are posted on my own website at

 home.Flash.net/~reed57/

Alright, on with Ch. 1!

** (a) Chapter I ~ Into the City of Demons **

{Disclaimer}  
All Yu Yu Hakusho characters are owned by Togashi Yoshihiro/Sheisha, Fuji TV, Pierrot, and FUNimation.

Real Bout High School © 2000 Reiji Saiga/Sora Inou. First published in 2000 by Kadokawa Shoten Publishing Co., LTD., Tokyo. English translation rights arranged with Kadokawa Shoten Publishing Co., LTD., Tokyo through Tuttle-Mori Agency, INC., Tokyo.

                "…Well, is this a perfect team or what?" Yusuke cried triumphantly, looking from Kurama, to Kazuma, to Hiei, and back. 

                "Hn," Hiei replied, before turning towards the large city full of demons. "We should leave quickly."

                "Argh! Monobrow, get off me!"

                "Stupid Sasquatch! What 'r ya doin' there?"

                "Ha! Serves you amateurs right!" Our quadric Reikai Tentei turned to find two people, piled on top of one another, with a long-haired girl, seemingly fallen on her face, rising to her knees. 

                "Fear not! Kazuma Kuwabara will rescue you!" Kuwabara cried as he turned to find them in a small dog pile, almost (but not quite) flinging "Monobrow" off of an extremely unnerved, beautiful high school student. Coming down on one knee and offering his hand, he put on his most, er, "handsome" face. "Do you need assistance, fair lady?"

                "Er, sure…"

                "Wha ya do tha' for, carrot top?" Monobrow asked from behind Kuwabara as he rose to his feet. "Sasquatch" stands up shakily, then, recovering her dignity, whipped her hand from Kuwabara's and reached to pick her bakken up off of the ground.

                "Who…" she trailed off as she took a good look around her.

                "We are pleased to have your acquaintance. My name is Suuichi, it is to our great happiness to meet you, but, we must still ask of your arrival point," Kurama trailed off questioningly as she focused on him. A large crack cut off his next words. 

                Azumi stiffened and jumped back as a small, hooded creature popped up from the ground. Pulling out her kiribayashi, she sliced it in half, leaning forewords…

                Only to meet another face over the cut creature. She looked, utterly surprised, into the red eyes of a small, gothic boy. 

                "…and you are?"

                "Hiei."

                "Azumi Kiribayashi, master of the Kiribayashi Naginata-Jitsu"

                "The most powerful demon you'll ever meet," and with that, they jumped back, and their signature smiles returned to their faces. In almost perfect unison, they both closed their eyes, content, and replaced their weapons.

                "Uh, wha'?" Kuwabara asked, completely dumbfounded. Kurama shook his head.

                "It's a warriors' agreement," and with that he turned to the quite confused Shizuma. As he opened his mouth (again) another crash cut him off.

                "Where the…?" looking around, Taiho sat up, before he noticed who he was sitting on. "Oh, er, sorry, Kunugi. Didn't see ya."

                "You are so hopeless," Kunugi sat up, readjusting his fighting outfit just as another crowd dropped down on him.

                "Xiaoxing's bottom hurt!" Another, short, scrawny character, gender unknown, jumped from the top of the pile, a yoyo like attachment swinging from her shoulder. 

                "Xiaoxing's behind hurts because she fell on Megumi's sorry back!"

                "Megumi's back is sorry? What did Megumi's back do?"

                "Does it matter? Just get off!" Kunugi cried from beneath the now very heavy load on top of him.

                "Hey, I'm better now, so, payback time!" Jumping up, Megumi turned to face the still pinned Kunugi.

                "Oh, I'm sure I'll be a real challenge with them on top of me!" A ninja-like dressed girl dropped gracefully from the lap of a brown haired, tall, one-eye-covered-by-a-load-of-thick-hair (very reminisce of Trowa Barton from Gundam Wing, if you ask me…) girl, who then removed herself from Kunugi. Kunugi stood up, his Cloud-Strife-blond-spiky hair forming a downwards tilting spike at the back of his head.

                "What are all these people doing here?"

                "That's what I'd like to know," Yusuke grumbled, looking around at the small, growing, crowd.

                "Hey, Shrimp, he looks like you!" Kuwabara pointed out gleefully, pointing at Kunugi. The "Shrimp" immediately shot a small fireball at the outspoken red head, before turning to Kunugi.

                "What are you, color blind?!?" Kunugi snapped, irritated at this new muscle-headed simpleton. He pointed at the utterly gothic Hiei. "I have blond hair, idiot!" Taiho sighed(oh, and his hair's down now, so it's not like Kuwabara's anymore.) before looking from one to another.

                "Well, you're both short, spiky-headed…" he trailed off as the two said fighters bared their teeth at him. "…and have extra long canines!" Hiei gripped his hands as Kunugi sighed, loosing the ticked off look.

                "When they waste all their cells on muscle, they have _none_ left over for brains, eh?" Hiei looked suspiciously out of the corner of his eye,  before nodding agreement. Suddenly, they both had a very scary glint in their eyes.

                "Never thought I'd agree with a human…"

                "…nor anyone as short as me…"

                "…Now they scare me," Yusuke stated firmly, looking from one short warrior to the other. 

                "Um, who are you?" Ryoko asked suddenly, breaking the "scary" moment. Kunugi and Hiei, as well as everyone else, looked, pretty much, at everyone else.

                "Well, um…" Yusuke muttered.

                "Now things get complicated…" Everyone looked at one another for a long moment before Xiaoxing smiled.

                "I Xiaoxing! Xiaoxing must fill quota, bondage 300 bad people!" The Reikai Tented looked at each other exasperatedly. 

                "Megumi Memoir the top wrestler of Tokyo!"

                "Asuka Kuronari. All those whom appose oust moral code thus will be visiteth upon with forthwith extreme annihilation."

                "Kunugi. Class A ninja."

                "Taiho. Toughest user of the Fang of Impact technique."

                "Shizuma Kusanagi. Best street fighter ever." ("That's debatable," was heard from Yusuke.)

                "Ryoko Mitsurugi, samurai idol of Daimon High."

                "Kurama. Class A youko."

                "Hiei. Class A demon."

                "Kazumi Kuwabara. The worst punk of Sariaski Jr. High."

                "Yusuke Urameshi. The much, much worser punk of Sariaski Jr. High."

                "Aoi Asihina. My regards." Everyone sweat dropped. With a sigh, Kurama looked around. 

                "Did Koenma send you?"

                "Wha'?" Shizuma asked as Asuka sighed. 

                "Thus thy small knowledge comes forthwith," she stated simply. Yusuke cocked his head.

                "Translation?"

                "We're not supposed to be here."

                "Yeah, I was about to pay him back for knocking the terrorist ninja out!" Megumi pointed dangerously at Kunugi. Asuka sweat dropped while the Urameshi team and the four other guys all looked at her quizzically.

                "It's not my fault we fell through!" Kunugi snapped back defensively.

                "Then who-" Megumi began before Kurama waved his had forcefully.

                "It was probably a fluke portal or two. These pop up randomly in the Ningenkia," Kurama stated smugly.

                "Ya' know, for a girl, ya' actually sound kinda smart," Shizuma said as a vein throbbed in Kurama's forehead.               

                "I'm a guy," he stated, quite calmly.

                "'For a GIRL'?!?!" Ryoko snapped impatiently at the monobrow. He opened his mouth to reply before Hiei cut in.

                "Listen, we're running out of time. Since you all seem to be fighters, if human, then you can be of some service. You shall accompany us to 'save the world', as Yusuke so bluntly put it." And with that he turned and walked towards the gates in the City of Demons.

                "Huh?" Taiho commented.

                "More babysitting, I suppose, Hiei?" Kurama asked the Koorime as he walked forewords. With a sigh the said demon nodded.

                "Hey, Hiei, wait up!" Kuwabara snapped as he raced to catch up to the Koorime, and the quickly following Yusuke. 

                "Xiaoxing confused! Little man talk too fast! Xiaoxing begin new language only week plus week plus week plus week ago!" Our loner Hiei fell flat on his face as Kurama smiled and the edge of his mouth started to twitch.

                "So, there're insects that can turn people into zombies flying around Tokyo, and we're going to this castle why?" Ryoko questioned as she walked next to the ever-patient Kurama. 

                "Because they have the /_whistle/_ that keeps the insects /_in/_ the Ningenkia. We are in the Makai right now, and…" 

                "Alright, so, we just walk straight on in?"

                "YEP!" Shizuma said happily, walking forward. 

                "Um, but what about the side door?" Asuka pointed to a small, normal door to the left. Everyone looked at the door, then at Kurama.

                "I screw up too, ya know!"

                "We should split up." Kunugi turned and walked towards the door, kicking it open. "Shizuma, Ryoko, Azumi, you go with the new quad, the rest of us'll go this way." 

                "…" Azumi shook her head.

                "Why should I go around with this sasquatch?" Shizuma groaned.

                "Why should I have to put up with Monobrow?" Ryoko snapped. Turning, the two of them glared at each other. Kurama politely pushed Ryoko forewords and Yusuke grabbed Shizuma's ear.

                "Come on, we don't got all day, here," Yusuke grumbled, dragging along the now ticked Shizuma.

                "Are you sure that was smart, Kunugi?" Taiho asked as they walked through the passage leading deeper into the castle.

                "If they can't survive the three of them, we don't need them anyways."

                "Harsh, man. Harsh."


	2. DS II Gate of Betrayal

** (a) Chapter II ~ Gate of Betrayal **

{Disclaimer}  
All Yu Yu Hakusho characters are owned by Togashi Yoshihiro/Sheisha, Fuji TV, Pierrot, and FUNimation.

Real Bout High School © 2000 Reiji Saiga/Sora Inou. First published in 2000 by Kadokawa Shoten Publishing Co., LTD., Tokyo. English translation rights arranged with Kadokawa Shoten Publishing Co., LTD., Tokyo through Tuttle-Mori Agency, INC., Tokyo.

                "Um, wha's tha bird-thing doing?" Shizuma asked pointedly, looking blandly as it flew towards a switch in the wall nearby.

                "Ha ha! Fools! This is your /_downfall_/_!_" the flying bat/eyeball/"bird-thing"/octopus gripped the lever in it's tentacles and…

                "The ceiling!" Kurama cried, as the now obviously movable ceiling fell. Barely catching it as it fell on their heads, the Reikai Tentei, Ryoko, Azumi, and Shizuma felt their muscles pop. With quivering legs they glared angrily at the said /_thing_/.

                "Oh, this is my _favorite_ part! Right now you're thinking: /_How long can I hold this? Will I die this way? Will one of them abandon us? Or will I be the one? How long could_/_-_" the _thing_ was abruptly cut off as a well-aimed shoe knocked it to the wall. Yusuke shot a look backwards at the fuming Ryoko.

                "Good aim."

                "Why thank you."

                "Listen, we need a way out of this," Hiei stated firmly, ticked at taking up Ryoko's momentary slack. 

                "Alright, no one leave, we need to think this through!" Kuwabara declared.

                "Oh, and you think dying as a team would be honorable?" Hiei snapped, sarcasm dripping soundly.

                "Yes!"

                "Well I won't die for a human!"

                "Don't you dare, Hiei!" Kurama snapped as the Koorime started to readjust. Ryoko glared firmly.

                "I knew we should have done some trust games!" Yusuke groaned. He shot a look over to where the /_thing_/ (how about Bob? Can we call it Bob?) was stirring. "Hiei! Can you reach the switch?" 

                "You twit! We can't trust that guy! Just look at him!"

                "Trusting yourself, and us, to a guy that swore your downfall is not the smartest thing in the world, ya know!" Ryoko snapped irritably. Shizuma, Azumi, and Kurama nodded agreement. 

                "I could reach it easily," Azumi stated firmly, before getting a dark glare from Ryoko. "I'm faster than you!"

                "I'm the fastest, but they have a point. I've already sworn my revenge on you. I could handle that now," Hiei stated, his eyes glinting malice. Yusuke shook his head.

                "Somehow, I don't think quick deaths are your style." Hiei blinked in confusion has Yusuke started to turn around. "I'll let out all of my spirit energy while you go and flip the switch."

                "Just don't trip!" Ryoko added quickly as she strained her muscles a little more.

                "You should trust him more!" Azumi defended. Everyone gave her a funny look. She stuck her nose in the air. "With you're and Shizuma's exception, everyone seems to be here for a purpose. If this Koenma sent him, he probably had a good reason." Ryoko looked surprised.

                "You're standin' up for someone other than 'e flower club! Good goin'!" Shizuma laughed. Azumi glared at him firmly as Yusuke powered up. Hiei dropped from his position, gasped, and disappeared on his way to the switch. Kurama smiled after him before his muscles explained, in a not-so-kind way, that he had more to hold up than before. 

                Hiei stood, suddenly, directly before the switch. Reaching for it, he… stopped. His hand in mid-air, he turned and looked at those still under the gate. /_It would be so_ easy _to kill them here, now. Just, whoosh, and_…/ Shaking his head firmly, he dropped his hand to his side.

                "What're ya doin'?" Kuwabara asked, his voice shaking. Hiei smirked.

                "Take a guess, you fool."

                "Darn you…" Kuwabara flexed his muscles angrily, and Kurama's face dropped. Yusuke shuddered under the weight of the gate (rhyme not intended) and Ryoko and Shizuma noted some unrepeatable profanities.                 /_Wait…_/Hiei shot Azumi a second look as she stood, shaking, behind Kurama. After one last desperate glance at him, she shut her eyes and strained her muscles.

                /_They underestimated me, just a little. Just enough… someone else could get out. Anyone…_/ Her foot slipped slightly and her knees started to buckle. /_NO!_/

                "Hiei~!" Kuwabara called helplessly as Hiei turned away slightly.

                /_I. Will. Not. Give. Up!_/ She gasped, pushing, and the descent paused. /_Now, please!_/

                "That was a good move. The boulder would have crushed you anyways…" the creature trailed happily as Hiei turned to it. 

                /_GO!_/

                "Thanks for the CLUE!" Hiei cried, slicing the thing down the middle. Dashing quickly, he snapped down the switch, and head a satisfying groan as the gate stopped and the gears reloaded. A small moan escaped Azumi as she fell to her knees, weak and sweating.

Hiei sighed as well, for some unknown reason, thankful for his decision. Looking up, he saw the oncoming boulder. 

                /_A quick little…_/

                "Hiei!" Yusuke's thoughts hit rock bottom as the boulder smashed down. The dust cleared quickly though, and she could hear his voice telling off the bat thing…

                Hiei smirked from the top of the boulder, and looked down at his "comrades".

                "Hiei! Knew ya'd make it!" Yusuke cried, thumping him on the back as he jumped down. Hiei looked at him out of the corner of his eyes, blinking curiously.

                "That was a good act. You had us all fooled." Kurama smiled.

                "Hn. I wasn't acting."

                "Say What?!" Kuwabara snapped, a tinge confused.

                "That's his way of saying you're welcome. You will learn."

                "Right." Yusuke answered.

                "Either way, Azumi's too tired taking up goth boy's slack, so she's out for a while." Ryoko stated firmly. Azumi had managed to crawl out from under the gate, but had collapsed against the wall, gasping for air, rubbing her sore muscles. Kurama walked over quickly and helped her stand as a familiar voice (or, should I say, _voices_) wandered in from behind them. 

                "Quit arguing! I see light!"

                "But, there hasn't been a single torch along this whole passage!"

                "Ninja's don't need light!"

                "What would you know? You're not even real!"

                "And you are?"

                "Xiaoxing needs fresh air! Xiaoxing's head hurts!"

                "Deal with it!"

                "And the company arrives!" Yusuke announced sarcastically, as the large troupe walked into the sunlight. Blinking sharply, Kunugi looked around at the partially battle ground.

                "What the he-" 

                "We will explain on the way. We need to hurry," Kurama stated, helping Azumi up. After a few gasps, she waved him away, pulling out her kiribayashi and using it as a walking stick. She made her slow way after Hiei. With a sigh, Kurama followed, followed closely by Ryoko, Shizuma, Yusuke, and co.

                "So, now where do we go?" Asuka stated the obvious. Our "heroes" were surrounded by stone wall, the only opening the way they had come.

                "Well, the only passage is this one, and the last door was a broom closet, so it seems we're stuck," Yusuke snapped, irritable since he opened that last door and jumped when a broom fell out and hit him in the face. Kuwabara hadn't stopped laughing until that same broom, wielded by an anonymous person, hit him in the face, too. He had resorted to giggles again. With a sigh, Megumi hit Kuwabara upside the head and turned around, just to be safe.

                "So, you foolish creatures think you can defeat me?" Everyone looked around for the source of the voice. "Turn around." For some unknown reason, everyone did so.

                "Well, at least we know where to go." Yusuke smiled and walked forwards.

                "And if it's a trap?" Kunugi asked firmly.

                "Well then, in that case, ladies first!" Turning, he pushed Kuwabara before him through the doorway. Kuwabara opened his mouth to say something back, but shut it as he walked into the dark room.

                "I am now your challenger." Yusuke, taking a torch off the wall, threw it at the still unidentified voice. It rolled to a stop before a golem (not Gollum from J.R.R. Tolkien's books, ye remember) -like creature, standing bent over, with a turtle-like back and a human face, with a spiked head and a Scorpio incarnate tail. It's feet were spread, and it's hands hung limp, similar to that of a gorilla's. "I am the first saint beast. Do you have a request be for you die?" He smiled at his last remark. Yusuke opened his mouth, but Megumi firmly smashed his foot. As Yusuke hopped around in the background, Kurama stepped foreword.

                "I will fight you first."

                "You can't fight a talking rock!" Kuwabara squeaked, finally regaining his voice. Hiei snickered. 

                "You are obviously underestimating Kurama. Do you know why I chose him as my partner? So I could avoid fighting him myself." 

                "If that didn't make sense, that would be pretty rude," Megumi muttered, before shooting a dark look at the still hopping Yusuke, and sweat dropping.

                "As long as he wins," Aoi muttered softly. Hiei shot her a curious look as Kurama situated himself to fight.

                "Look out! His tail is-" Asuka was cut off as the tail shot through the ground at Kurama. Dodging swiftly to the left, Kurama missed the main attack, but was caught in the stomach.

                "Kurama!" Asuka, Kuwabara, Ryoko, and Taiho yelled. Shizuma shifted feet, and Hiei shook his head, while Aoi's one visible eye widened. Yusuke finally sat down, still rubbing his foot.

                "I'll be alright…" Kurama managed, "It's only a small cut."

                "Ha! You're so full of yourself!" Genbu laughed, before continuing with some more taunts. 

                "Underestimating his opponent. How lame," Ryoko commented, shaking her head. 

                "He /_is_/ hurt," Megumi replied, stretching slightly. Kurama got up, moving his hand away from the wound. Gasping for breath, he turned to his stone opponent. Glaring at him from under red locks of hair, he shook his head. 

                Genbu smiled as he slid effortlessly into the ground. 

                "You have no idea where I am, do you? You are blind!" Genbu called from amidst the rocks.

                "So I am," Kurama sighed and, with a flick of his hair, he exposed a ringle rose.

                "A rose?" Kuwabara asked, looking on with skepticism as Kurama lengthened it into a whip.  Shizuma snorted.

                "Girlyish."

                "Charming…" Asuka admitted.

                "Alluring…" Megumi noted they looked at each other for one gleeful moment.

                "BISHOUNEN!" Kurama fell flat on his face as most of our heroes cracked up. Hiei stood stock still, sighing.

                "Bakas…"

                "HA!" Genbu cried, rushing at the still immobile /_bishounen_/ from behind. Turning, Kurama frowned.

                "Attacking from behind, how predictable," he dodged easily, and watched as Genbu hid in the stone again. Kurama turned suddenly. "Found you!"

                "HA!" Genbu cried, rushing into Kurama's oncoming whip. "How… How did you know?"

                "Your smell. Against the aroma of my rose petals, it was easy to pick out." He smiled, even as the pieces of Genbu started to float.

                "Um…"

                "That didn't hurt me! But coming apart makes for a very nice attack!" he swooped at Kurama, doing minimal damage. As the pieces of Genbu turned in midair, Kurama fell to one knee. 

                "Kurama!"

                "No I'll be fine, just…" he shook his head, deciding against what he was going to say, and turned to face Genbu. With a smile, Kurama gripped a part of Genbu as he flew past, before falling a little bit, holding his wounds. 

                "Ha! You should have let them help when you had the chance! Fool!" Genbu said happily as he put himself back together. He stopped when he looked up at Kurama.

                "How, how did you get on the ceiling?!?" Genbu cried as Kurama stood up. There was a moment of silence. A /_short_/ moment of silence.

                "Ha! I've heard of brass balls but this takes the cake!" Yusuke cried, as he, Kuwabara, Shizuma, Taiho, and Megumi burst into laughter. Genbu, while putting himself back together, seemed to misplace some of his body parts. We all know, now, where his head is…

                "Argh! You!" Genbu cried. Kurama smirked happily, holding up a small, red, glowing stone, and explained how it was the part of his brain that held him together. With a smirk, he threw it into the air, coming down on it expertly with his rose whip. With a cry, Genbu disappeared in a burst of light. Kurama's smile faded as he fell to his knees, clutching his stomach. The Reikai Tentei, the Shinsengumi, and Shizuma's squad ran forewords, with Yusuke reaching him first. Hiei had a slightly bewildered expression on his face. 

                "If Kurama is injured we are going to have some problems."

                "Anyone got some extra wardings?" Ryoko asked, helping up Kurama by holding his other arm.

                "Nothin' I ain't usin'," Shizuma admitted, with a shrug. 

                "Oh, well, here, you can have my vest…" Ryoko quickly slid her vest off.

                "No truly, it is not necessary…"

                "Really?"

                "Listen, I-"

                "Just do as she says!" Megumi cried exasperatedly, tying the vest around him herself, giving the knot an extra tug.

                "…I thing we were a bit counterproductive… Kurama passing out on the floor's not a good thing, is it?" Kunugi pointed out solemnly as they all stared down at Kurama's prone form. "I believe I was correct."

**Yes! Gate of Betrayal & Genbu, the First Saint Beast, Completed! WHAHOOOO!**


	3. DS III Byakko, the White Tiger

** (a) Chapter III ~ Byakko, the White Tiger **

{Disclaimer}  
All Yu Yu Hakusho characters are owned by Togashi Yoshihiro/Sheisha, Fuji TV, Pierrot, and FUNimation.

Real Bout High School © 2000 Reiji Saiga/Sora Inou. First published in 2000 by Kadokawa Shoten Publishing Co., LTD., Tokyo. English translation rights arranged with Kadokawa Shoten Publishing Co., LTD., Tokyo through Tuttle-Mori Agency, INC., Tokyo.

                "Just because I-"

                "Quit whining, human!" 

                "Shut up, shortie! It's just that-"

                "Don't tell me what to-"

                "Argh! You two 'r goina drive th' rest o' us nuts!" Shizuma cried as Hiei and Megumi finally turned away from their argument. 

                "But this isn't ethical!"  
                "Suck it up!" Hiei snapped, but shot a look at the poor girl's predicament. She was running with the rest of them up the flights of stairs, keeping good pace, since she was carrying another person, particularly Kurama, on her back. Everyone had voted, since she had done the damage, that she would carry him. Of course, she naturally objected.

                "He's a guy! Come on, what'll he say when he wakes up?!" 

                "'Don't know, but you'll be the first to hear it!"

                "Shut up, Yusuke! You're not helping!"

                "A door, finally!" Xiaoxing cried, pointing. Megumi smiled happily, /_I can finally put the bishounen down!_/

                "Looks like the electricity bill wasn't paid. There isn't a light at the end o' this tunnel," Yusuke remarked sarcastically as Azumi, who happened to be in front, pushed the door open. Outside, on the top of a tower, more storm clouds had gathered, leaving a dreary looking walkway and another tower as the only thing you could see through the rain. Megumi sighed and slid down the wall to the ground, dropping off her load. The others, though, looked unwelcomingly at their opponent. 

                "Ha! So you finally arrive!" Byakko called at the troupe. Megumi looked up, surprised, at a large, white, tiger, who stood upwards like a man, with a fur toga, but was definitely a tiger.

                "Hiei…Kurama…you, traitors, will die with the rest of the leech humans you work with!" Byakko called, standing upright a bit more, and roaring. 

                "He obviously likes hearing himself talk…" Yusuke grumbled as the rocks shook from the noise. After a moment the tiger smiled.

                "Who will be the first to die?" Byakko called as everyone made it too their feet. Hiei started foreword, before being pushed back by Kuwabara. 

                "Didn't I say I'd take the next one?" He snapped, before starting to walk across the narrowed bridge.

                "But, you didn't…" Shizuma noted simply.

                "Shut up!"

                "You're not scared?" Ryoko asked as he started to walk across. Kuwabara turned around.

                "Of course not!"

                "So your knees are shaking out of anticipation, then?" Yusuke asked coldly.

                "Shut up Urameshi! I'm just scared of heights!" Kuwabara then turned and made his way to the larger section of the walkway. 

                "This is my first challenger? HA! You're a fool!"

                "Come down here and face me like a man!" Kuwabara shouted as he thought to himself /_He's huge!_/

                "Why bother? You can't even stand up to one of my hairs!" Byakko called, before proving that he was correct. Taking four hairs from his mane, he threw them all at Kuwabara, not caring about aim much. Kuwabara dodged the best he could, barely being scraped.

                "Ha! That wasn't that much…" His words died on his lips as the four hairs took shape as demons. 

                "See what I mean?"

                "This is useless. He's swinging his sword around like a flyswatter. Hopeless." Hiei murmured as they all watched Kuwabara being ripped to shreds.

                "Yes, lovely. Now, when can we get in on it?" Megumi asked, pounding one fist into the other. Hiei shot her a dark look. 

                "You really think you can handle it?"

                "This calls for a weapon of sorts, which narrows it down to Ryoko, Xiaoxing, Hiei, Aoi, and me," Azumi calmly stated, looking out at the fight. Kuwabara shot a look over his shoulder, before turning and running towards his comrades.

                "He's running away? Foolish…" Ryoko stated calmly. Kurama stiffened visibly,   "He's not going to make it!"

                "Ha! I knew the fool would run away like that!" Byakko cried, triumphant. Kuwabara turned on his heel, halfway down the path.

                "Who ever said anything about running away?" He snapped as he turned to the lined up hair monsters. Ryoko raised her hand in the background, and everyone sweat dropped. Kuwabara smirked, elongating his sword and letting it drive through the hairs. "This is what I call a monster shish kabob!" He cried happily. Hiei furrowed his brow. 

                "Stupid."              

                "I don't know. I kind of like it…" Kurama noted, firmly ticking Hiei off. He dug his nails into his sword hilt. Suddenly, the monsters started to glow.

                "Wh-what?!?"

                "Just because they are no longer attached, does not mean that they are unable to draw power from me! Ha!" (He laughs a lot, don't you think?) Byakko howled as his monsters pushed Kuwabara onwards. He ran through a gap in the crowd and around the tower.

                "Does he know it's round?" Hiei asked as Kuwabara came around again, latching his end of the sword to the other end.

                "Monster donut!" He cried. Yusuke smirked and turned to Byakko.

                "I don't like this one, sir. Do you have one with chocolate?" Everyone smirked happily as Byakko raged silently, before striking the tower with a large lightning bolt. A single stone fell from the top, knocking poor Kurama out yet again.

                "Um, well, no donuts it is, then…"

                "Now we fight!" Shizuma cried happily, running forward.

                "What does that Neanderthal think he's doing?" Ryoko snapped, glaring after the eager Shizuma. Hiei commented as usual ("Baka.") and Kuwabara turned on his heel.

                "How dare he?! This is my fight!" he cried, running after Shizuma full force. Tackling Shizuma from behind, he ran up past him to the now impatient Byakko. Shizuma, grumbling unrepeatable profanities, ran after him, knocked him to the ground, and ran on. This continued until they both gave up on running and started to fight each other. At this point, Byakko was rolling with laughter.

                "I*tear of laughter*had no idea*tears*that you humans*laughs, snorts* were such comedians!" He finally gave up and full out laughed, ignoring Shizuma's and Kuwabara's Deadly Gaze.

                "He's mine."

                "No. He's mine. He was mine first."

                "*****"

                "***** ******"

                "*-"

                "Shut up already! Sheesh, you are such children!" Ryoko called over her shoulder as she walked ahead of them. Smiling, she turned her full attention on Byakko. She leaned over slightly, took a stance, braced her legs, leaped, and-

                -was caught around the middle by Shizuma.

                "Why, you! Let go!"

                "He's mine!"

                "No I-"

                "Hmph." And with that metaphorical statement of the year, Hiei rammed Byakko full-force, before blowing over the stonework with a few moves of his katana. Byakko fell to his knees as Hiei sheathed his sword. He turned around, about to open his mouth, as Byakko spoke.

                "Die, traitor!" He cried, aiming a pounce at the unsuspecting Koorime. Hiei looked around, surprised, as his claws extended. Fortunately for Hiei, Azumi came prepared.

                "Kiribayashi mode nineteen, made for the singular purpose of pushing a large opponent off of a cliff!" She cried, using the kiribayashi as a vault to kick Byakko in the side of the face, knocking him off the platform. She turned, "v" sign ready. *SMIRK* Kuwabara ran up, looking over the side, and sighed heavily.

                "Now I can't fight him…" 

                "Come on, we still have two more beasties, right?" Yusuke asked as he walked past them to the stairway. Hiei jumped up the side of the tower, waiting patiently as everyone took the long way, except Azumi, who vaulted up. The two of them gave each other a dark look, before moving on down the hallway. Everyone caught up as a voice rang through the tunnel.

                "You think you had killed me, humans? Fools! All that is different is that I now have a score to settle! Bwa-HA! Come, fight me in my lair!" The voice came from a doorway at the end of the tunnel, where the troupe began towards.


	4. DS IV Byakko's Lair

** (a) Chapter IV ~ Byakko's Lair **

{Disclaimer}  
All Yu Yu Hakusho characters are owned by Togashi Yoshihiro/Sheisha, Fuji TV, Pierrot, and FUNimation.

Real Bout High School © 2000 Reiji Saiga/Sora Inou. First published in 2000 by Kadokawa Shoten Publishing Co., LTD., Tokyo. English translation rights arranged with Kadokawa Shoten Publishing Co., LTD., Tokyo through Tuttle-Mori Agency, INC., Tokyo.

                "Whoa!" Yusuke noted firmly. "Lair? More like a preheated oven! What's he trying to do, cook us?" In front of them was a large cave, and where the floor would be, was a lava pit. All around the interior there were large pillars of stone, with a flat piece on top. Byakko stood on one towards the center, but closer to the other side, where there was another doorway. Kuwabara smirked.

                "This fight's mine! Because, I've got this thing called an honor code, and it will not let me run from a fight!" He immediately jumped to the nearest pillar, landing on the edge. The platform broke, making Kuwabara scramble for a finger hold. Once he had pulled himself up, he shook his head.

                "You're welcome to it…" Megumi mumbled as she placed the still unconscious Kurama down again.

                "A human with an honor code. That's new…" Hiei grumbled. Everyone else, Kunugi included, glared heavily at him.

                "Are you sure you don't need help?" Yusuke called as Kuwabara struggled. Kuwabara waved a hand at him.

                "I started this fight, and I'll finish it alone."

                "Of course, in between, it really doesn't matter," Azumi noted coldly.

                "But you can't make all the jumps!" Yusuke pushed further, watching as Kuwabara thought momentarily.

                "That's only because it's so freaking hot in here," and with that, Kuwabara threw down his over jacket, exposing wardings and (gasp) muscle. Yusuke rolled his eyes.

                "He's just showing off for the ladies." Kuwabara, meantime, prepared his sword as Byakko coughed a large green, glowing ball at him. 

                "Wait, don't touch it!" Kurama, miraculously revived, called from his seat next to the exhausted Megumi.

                Kuwabara, thoroughly confused, jumped to the nearest platform anyways. The ball immediately incinerated the stone.

                "My jacket!"

                "Just as I thought. I really didn't think I'd ever get to see one." Hiei remarked as Kurama struggled to his feet. "An attack with the owner's voice alone, using sound waves to obliterate an object. Tiger Scream."

                For a while longer, Kuwabara dodged these until he was only one away from Byakko. 

                "Ha! You missed again!" Kuwabara called happily as he made the final jump. Pointing his sword at Byakko, he called, "YOU'RE MINE!"

                "Just like all the others, the Tiger Scream has proved too much for you! You have fallen into my trap!"

                "What do you mean? You've missed every time."

                "True, but as you'll notice, there is only one more place to jump. Here. And I truly doubt that you could make it! But of course, there is always that chance."

                "Hiei, could you get to him in time?" Kurama asked softly as they realized their friend's predicament. 

                "If need be."

                "Shut up! I can hear you guys whispering about how you're going to save me! I'm not taking anyone's help!" Kuwabara shouted over one shoulder as Yusuke's face fell a little.

                "Doesn't he realize he's about to die?"

                "Probably not," all the girls, Shizuma, Taiho, and Kunugi answered in unison. The four guys glared at them.

                "Alright, human, HERE!" Byakko called as he sent a Tiger Scream to where Kuwabara just stood. Jumping as high as possible, he started falling a quarter of the way. "I lied. You could never had made it!"

                "He's not going to-" Kurama's words died mid-sentence as Kuwabara's sword lengthened, catching hold on a small, nearby, base. Using the sword as a vault, he swung forward, slamming his fist into Byakko.

                "Eat this!" The momentum carried Byakko over the edge, and brought Kuwabara with him. 

                "Let's go to hell together!" He cried as they both fell over the side. All that could be seen, after that, was a large splash, and a few lava noises. Yusuke fell to his knees. 

                "He's… dead. This is so stupid! We're protecting the world, but who's protecting us?" He let his head fall forward, not caring who saw. Kuwabara was…

                "…alive!" Taiho cried, pointing. Yusuke looked up instantly as Kuwabara waved slightly, hanging from a thread of his wardings. Yusuke's eyes dried instantly.

                "Human beginner's luck," Hiei noted softly.

                A few minutes later, they all stood on the platform where Kuwabara hung.

                "Interesting strategy, Kuwabara." Kurama noted as he looked over the edge at his friend. Kuwabara swung hopelessly. Hiei smirked slightly.

                "Yes. Maybe we should let you fight the next two beasts as well."

                "Uh-uh. No way. I've done my part. You take the next one…Now, please, help me up! I feel something slipping!"


	5. DS V Seiryu, the Blue Dragon

** (a) Chapter V ~ Seiryu, The Blue Dragon **

{Disclaimer}  
All Yu Yu Hakusho characters are owned by Togashi Yoshihiro/Sheisha, Fuji TV, Pierrot, and FUNimation.

Real Bout High School © 2000 Reiji Saiga/Sora Inou. First published in 2000 by Kadokawa Shoten Publishing Co., LTD., Tokyo. English translation rights arranged with Kadokawa Shoten Publishing Co., LTD., Tokyo through Tuttle-Mori Agency, INC., Tokyo.

                "It appears we have found a maze in Maize Castle." Hiei remarked dryly. Looking around at sixteen different doors, the others agreed. 

                "Alright, Mr. Sensitive, this is you're job, go to it." Yusuke said as he pushed Kuwabara forward. After stumbling slightly, he looked at all the different doors, before seeing a small glow under the third from the left. 

                "There. I sense something big. Something scary." Opening the door himself, Kuwabara jumped and fell backwards, as a small, white mouse ran out of the light. "A-a MOUSE!"

                "Idiot." Hiei commented as he walked past the orange-haired human.

                "Useless." Kunugi agreed as he and the others walked past him while Kuwabara stumbled to his feet.

                "And that speech was sounding so dramatic!" Yusuke added sarcasm dripping from his voice.

                "Is this supposed to frighten us?" Hiei asked, sounding insulted by the very idea. Kurama paused as lightning flashed outside.

                "Perhaps. It is the mark of the blue dragon, Seiryu. And judging from the smell, the beast is inside."

                "Yeah, and he doesn't feel very nice,"Kuwabara noted seriously.

                "Oh, what a name. Let's just finish this." Shizuma sarcastically noted and kicked the door open. He paused as he noticed the large amount of mist in the room. "Wha'?"

                "This fog's alive," Kurama looked from one side of the room to the other.

                "It's a form of spirit energy, it must coming from our beast's body, " Hiei, the only one who obviously did his homework, surmised.

                "And that's correct." A form manipulated from the mists stood in the center of the room. Blue skinned, goute, beady eyes, blue dragon tunic and all, stood the seven foot Seiryu. "You have done very well to have come this far. But I will no longer alow you to disgrace my master." He disappeared into the mist.

                "Okay, mister, I'm getting really tired of these hide and seek games!" Yusuke yelled.

                "Yeah, show yourself!" Kuwabara snapped from his left.

                "As you request." The mists swirled again, forming Seiryu. Ryoko smirked.

                "Are we really supposed to take someone with /_blue skin_/ seriously?" She asked as the others all nodded in agreement, with Kunugi, Hiei, and Kurama excluded. Seiryu's eyes narrowed.

                "And he's no dragon, that's for sure! No dragon could be that ugly!" As Yusuke's big mouth proved itself again, a vein began to throb in Seiryu's forehead. 

                "It is not wise to say such things to your executioner…" He paused and seemed to snort slightly. "It appears we have another geust."

                "How strange…" Aoi commented.

                "Wha'? Who?" Megumi asked as the Shinsengumi, Yusuke, and Kuwabara turned around. Kurama, Azumi, and Hiei carefully kept their eyes on Seiryu. Xiaoxing, of course, was paying no attention. Walking forward, she looked up at the giant.

                "What is you here in way for?" She asked, not even noticing the problems with her new language. He glared down at her as the others exclaimed over the arrival, and Hiei, Azumi, and Kurama whirled towards that around.

                "Uh, guys, I'm not sure how to tell you this…" Kuwabara stumbled.

                "You're joking…" Yusuke asked, credulous.

                "What the-!" Asuka asked.

                "You died! I saw you fall in the lava!" Azumi cried, aggrivated now that she didn't know what was going on.

                "What does it take to kill this guy?" Kunugi asked, all forethought forgotten.

                "Please, help me…" Byakko, the White Tiger, who fell into a /_lava pit_/, said, looking up at the angry Seiryu. Other than a few scrapes and burns, he looked normal. Oh, and don't forget the limp.

                "Weakling, you have disgraced our master." Without another word, Seiryu jumped, punching Byakko a half  dozen times in the course of a second, and coming to rest behind him. Byakko, suddenly incased in ice, shattered as Seiryu kicked him, coming to rest where he had stood before. "You were right about my mists. By lowering the degrees to sub-zero temperatures, I can wrap my enemies in ice."

                "You *******! Killing your own friend when he came for help!" Yusuke yelled.

                "*****!" Shizuma agreed readily.

                "***** ***** *********!" Ryoko snapped industriously. Everyone gave her a curious look. Xiaoxing moved to the side just a little.

                "This race of demons has no loyalty. They forge alliances purely to gain power." Kurama's eyes narrowed as he spoke.

                "This guy's pushed me too far. He's dead!" Yusuke snapped, starting to move forward.

                "No! Xiaoxing's prey!" Xiaoxing cried suddenly, stepping forward. "Tall man count as two in quota!"

                "Does she know what she's doing?" Yusuke asked, edgy.

                "Yes. She will fight as she always does." Aoi looked on calmly as the four Reikai Tentai shot her a curious look.

                "Foolish human…" Seiryu calmly stated, walking forward. Xiaoxing smirked and jumped into position.

                "HA!" She swung her small, yo-yo like ball at his head, which he dodged with ease. He smiled back.

                "Look, girl, you missed."

                "Nyah, Nyah!" Xiaoxing cried, catching the yo-yo as it flew over his other shoulder after bouncing off the pillar behind him. Dodging to her right, she tightened it around his neck, happily coming up behind him unexpectantly, and tying his feet together. His hand that wasn't engaged in untying himself backhanded her into a pillar. 

                "Xiaoxing!" Megumi cried, starting forward. Seiryu held up one hand as he freed himself. 

                "I wouldn't do-" He was cut off as Aoi came up between Yusuke and Hiei, cutting into his side with her wooden sword as she slid past him with a grace the others could only gawk at. She placed the sword to one side as Seiryu doubled over, holding his stomache. He turned, preparing for another attack, to find Aoi walking calmly past him, Xiaoxing held reverently in her arms. She gingerly handed her to Megumi and took her spot in the back again. After looking at her for another moment, Megumi looked down at Xiaoxing, who's bruise was just starting to appear. 

                "Look, you can fight or bully any normal guy, but beating up little girls is just pathetic!" Shizuma snapped, holding up a fist. Hiei shook his head.

                "Save your anger. You may have whoever we meet next. Let this fight be mine." And with that he turned and walked forward, ahead of the rest of the group, and settled into position. 

                "Ah, are you to be first, Hiei?" Seiryu asked mockingly.

                Hiei paused, and shot a look at Byakko, before standing up straight.

                "Changed your mind, Hiei?" Seiryu asked, but he stopped as Hiei, with a florish, wisked his coat off, and threw it over the frozen head of Byakko. The silence thickened as it fluttered to a stop.

                "What was that? Do not tell me you're feeling sympathy for this ametuer," Seiryu continued, his drawling voice grinding everyone's nerves. "From your actions at the gate of betrayal, I was hoping you had more of a warrior's spirit." Hiei stiffened, then narrowed his eyes.

                "He's a puzzle, isn't he?" Kurama asked as everyone shot him a curious look. "In times before, I've seen Hiei act with simalir cruelty. But something about Byakko's execution has caused great anger in him." At this point, Hiei came down slightly, reaching for his katana, his arua glowing blue. "He lives by his own code with very complex rules. And one thing is for certain, never before have I seen him go into a fight using such an extraordinary amount of his spirit energy."

                "Good, as long as he kicks some ass." Yusuke agreed. 

                "It's not too late, Hiei. You could taste power and vain beyond your wildest dreams, with the help of my master…" Seiryu asked.

                "Are you finished?"

                "Huh?"

                "They're last words, you know."

                "So be it! Then you shall die like the rest of them!" He cried, punching forward. "Ice Dragon!" Seiryu yelled (on anyone with a better voice, it would be bellowed, but he's just so… pathetic). A second later, he blasted Hiei with a formation of mist, which Hiei sliced in two. This went to either side of him, making holes in the wall. Kuwabara looked behind him.

                "Hey, watch it!"

                "This isn't anything to brag about," Ryoko stated clearly and Asuka nodded.

                "Yes, my techniques are far more civilized."

                "Really? You mean your wannabe 'ninja' techniques?" Kunugi asked with a snort.

                "What did you say?!"

                "Dodge this!" Seiryu raged further, punching the air in front of him once.

                "It's that technique! Run!" Yusuke cried, and, after a moment's hesitation, Hiei complied.  Jumping over the top of Seiryu, he landed and turned around, watching as the place where he had stood was covered in ice.

                "So, I seem to have forgotten about you demon speed, Hiei. But I will Not miss again!" And with that he punched at him a few more times, each time Hiei dodging and pausing slightly to look back at the frozen spot. After a few rounds, Seiryu made a direct hit. 

                "No! Hiei!" Kurama called, and Asuka turned instantly from her fight.

                "Hiei!" Asuka and Azumi caroled, ignoring each other. Shizuma, Taiho, and Kunugi smiled at each other. This just got interesting.

                "Wait, he's okay," Yusuke protested. Kuwabara glared at Kurama.

                "Yeah, don't scare us like that!"

                "No, his leg. We won't be able to run away any longer." Everyone looked curiously at Hiei's left, and frozen, shin.

                Hiei sat, his frozen leg bent upward, sitting on his other leg slightly, taking weight off the first, his sword arm behind him just a little, holding his sword almost parallel to him on the ground behind him. He glared up at Seiryu.

                "You see, no one ever escapes, only begs for mercy. With your leg frozen, you can't possibly move; start groveling. Ice Dragon!" And with that the mists swirled yet again. Hiei jabbed his sword forward, using it as leverage and pulling himself forward. "Now you end!" He came up in Seiryu's face, barely being grazed by his attack, before all that could be seen was flashes and swirls of light. 

                "Oh!" Everyone cried, and watched as Hiei came to a stop a few feet from them, his sword resting gracefully in his outstreched and relaxed hand. 

                "Hiei!"

                "You have escaped, but you are wounded," Seiryu stopped dead as laughing interupted him. "Why are you laughing?"

                "Your stupid anticts may hurt your friend, but not me." Gripping one upheld hand, Hiei's arm broke away the ice, and the ice on his legs cracked and vaporized as well. 

                "That's…impossible! I shall give…one final blow!" Seiryu cried, as a large streak of red blood trailed down his face. He looked at it crosseyed.

                "Not likely." Hiei smirked as his opponent's many cuts caught up with him, tearing him to shreds, he disolved into mist. There was a pause of formidable silence, before Asuka, Yusuke, and Shizuma shouted in unison- 

                "Cool!" The three of them ran to the champion.

                "When did he attack?" Kuwabara asked, dumbfounded.

                "Don't worry. After the initial hit, I couldn't keep up either," Kurama informed him, running ahead with the rest of the group.

                "Shortie's a lot cooler than I thought!" Kuwabara called suddenly, running after his friends. Kuwabara joined in next to Kurama, who had tilted his head slightly.

                "Hiei, how many times did you cut him?" Kurama asked, his eyes twinkling at his friend's speed.

                "Only sixteen."

                "Kuso! And I only kept up with seven or eight!" Yusuke groaned.

                "That's nothing meager. After the first cut, all I could see were flashes of light," our resident youko noted.

                "Ha! Pay up, Shizuma, Taiho," Kunugi said happily from behind. "Sixteen, correct? You really should listen to me more."

                "Kuso. And my bets were on eight…" the blue-haired one grumbled, forking over the money while the other dug in his pocket.

                "Mine was twenty-six." The two of them looked at each other and sighed. 

                "No wonder you were so put-out when you came down. You had a really sour face on…" Ryoko noted, looking down at Hiei. She smirked as he shot her a dirty look. "Not that sixteen's bad, of course, but couldn't you do better if you had unfrozen yourself beforehand?" The said person paused, then nodded. She nodded knowingly. "I knew it."

                "Of course, Ryoko, even in top form, I doubt you could get ten shots through in that moment," the Kiribayashi master proded onward, only to receive a jab in the shoulder.

                "And you could, Azumi?"

                "Of course!" She answered her rival happily, who just sighed in return.

                "Man! If you use those moves next time we fight, O'm gonna be-" Yusuke started, before Shizuma pounced forward.

                "Yeah! When this is over, I might actually have some competition!" Shizuma said haughtily from behind.

                "-darned…" Yusuke finished after getting a half a dozen dark looks. Hiei turned and walked away.

                "Maybe." Everyone looked at him curiously.

                "For sure I thought he'd say 'Well of course you fool!'" Kuwabara stated coldly, looking disheveled. The red haired bishounen's head tilted to one side. 

                "Hiei's going through a tricky change." Everyone's attention turned to him. "It appears he is starting to like you." Yusuke looked at him in confusion, then at Hiei, then smiled.

                "Right, then. Onward!" Megumi cried suddenly, pointing towards the door still carrying the passed out Xiaoxing over her shoulder. 


	6. DS VI The Many Episodes of Suzaku

** (a) *The Many Episodes of Suzaku* **

{Disclaimer}  
All Yu Yu Hakusho characters are owned by Togashi Yoshihiro/Sheisha, Fuji TV, Pierrot, and FUNimation.

Real Bout High School © 2000 Reiji Saiga/Sora Inou. First published in 2000 by Kadokawa Shoten Publishing Co., LTD., Tokyo. English translation rights arranged with Kadokawa Shoten Publishing Co., LTD., Tokyo through Tuttle-Mori Agency, INC., Tokyo.

Author's Notes: There are a few (well, more than a few) changes here: A) The whole Suzaku gig is 1, uno, singular, ONE episode. 'tay? B) _Ryoko_ comes with Yusuke, and helps in the fight, leaving the rest of the crew to fight the vegi-people. C) There are air vents in the towers. D) There seems to be a large amount of vegi-people… E) The green bird has an actual use! @_@ F)I skipped a scene, earlier, when Kuwabara was showing off. I'll make up for that here. G) Hitomi, back at school, starts getting attacked, and gets saved by… Bwa ha ha! You'll see! H)Seiryu makes an unusual comeback! I) (Is this enough yet?) Keiko and Botan end up hiding in Diamon High. J)Suzaku has an interesting side note…and another…and another…kind of like these extras…they just keep going…and going…and going… and- K)Asuka…um…does something a little out of character…L)There is a removable pannel in the walls of the castle. 

AAN: (Another author's note) I'm just skipping the part where Botan runs into Keiko. We'll just say she's already done that, and they decided to _run away_ from the school, instead of into it. (*sweatdrop*)

                "I thought there were only _Four_ beasts!" Megumi cried as she ran next to the rest of our group. Ryoko nodded.

                "Four _Saint_ Beasts! They left out the ninety million others!" Ryoko cried, aggrivated. Our troupe ran through the tunnels, up stairs, down towers, in front of more than a truck load of demons. _Much_ more.

                "Where did they all come from?!" Yusuke asked, ticked. They were going up stairs, again, and since most of the demon thingies could fly, it didn't matter to them. Just to the troupe. 

                "Kuso! Kuso, kuso, Kuso!" Shizuma snapped with each step he took. Kuwabara was out of breath, and Kunugi and Hiei were running up ahead, having to pause and wait for them. Of course, every time they paused, Asuka would shoot past them, stop, double over, and start up again as they got ahead of her. Megumi and Ryoko were at the back. Hiei shot a look at Shizuma suddenly.

                "I thought you said you wanted to fight the next one? I told you it would be your's."

                "I didn't agree to a thousand!"

                "Xiaoxing kick demon number thirty-five! For every five monster Xiaoxing kick, one in tye-up quota!"

                "Why's that?" Megumi asked, who happened to be holding Xiaoxing over one shoulder still while she kicked.

                "Good practice for bumpy roads, air combat, and camel riding!" Xiaoxing cried happily. Megumi fumed silently. For a moment.

                "If you ever compare me to a camel again, you're never getting another free ride from me! You'll pay like everyone else!"

                "Light!" Asuka cried from behind Kunugi, surprised she could say anything after all that running. Kunugi, of course, was the most surprised of all, as he tripped and held his now popped ears.

                "You're supposed to announce, not destroy my eardrums! Baka ya-" He stopped dead as Taiho dragged him the rest of the way by his collar. As soon as he could stand, Kunugi hit Taiho upside the head. "Don't-"

                "Where are we?" Azumi, who was almost happily slicing through any demon that came to the door, asked with her usual air. Everyone looked around. They were at the doorway at the top of some tower, they were standing in a small enclosure, which then stopped, with a large open area, then another tower, with two sets of stairs. At the top appeared to be the last tower, and a room that was strangely reminisce of a flying saucer. 

                "Right. Let's go," Hiei stated calmly, walking ahead as Shizuma and Taiho pushed the door close. They turned and followed Hiei with the others. Hiei stopped, suddenly, halfway down the small tunnel, and sliced through a nearby stone. He let his sword rest near the top as the stone fell away, exposing a small, tan-haired boy, a little taller than Hiei, standing in the spot behind the fake rock. 

                "Diasku?!" Ryoko, Azumi, and Shizuma yelped. "What are you doing here?" Diasku, on the other hand, was looking most pointedly at the end of Hiei's extremely sharp blade. He gulped aloud.

                "Hiei, it's alright, he' just human," Ryoko said coachingly. Hiei lowered his sword slowly, then sheathed it and turned away. Diasaku, now assured he could breath without being impaled, sighed with relief. Ryoko looked down at him slightly. "How'd you get here?"

                "I came in one of the portals Kurama mentioned," Diasaku said patiently. "I then did what I always do."

                "You never cease to amaze me…" Ryoko admitted as Kurama looked down at the kid for a moment.

                "How do you know who I am?"

                "I hid behind the tree and heard the introductions."

                "And how'd you get here ahead of us?"

                "Air vents!" he cried happily, pointing up. "They even led me past the maze!" Everyone (except for the usual people) paused and did a face-fault. Diasaku looked around at them all curiosly. "What?"

                "Never mind. Now, why didn't you show yourself?" Kurama asked after he had regained his composure. Diasaku paused and Shizuma filled in.

                "'Cause he's an ametuer stalker." No one said anything, before everyone then glared at him. He pulled up his camera. 

                "That's just how I work!" 

                "Never did like the press," Yusuke muttered, before walking on ahead. Everyone followed and Diasaku stayed at the back, going over his pictures. 

                "Don't you… hear something?" Asuka asked softly as they neared the middle of the platform. Aoi next to her stopped and paused, listening, then nodded.

                "Just a moment, there is a presence in the stairs…" Asuka told the others who looked at the darkened hallways. With only the slightest moment of silence, a group of humans, with moss and leaves for hair and skin, walked into the filtered light. The others looked on for a moment.

                "Cultivated humans…Disgusting," Hiei noted with his usual cold tone. The others looked on, a mix of emotions crossing their faces. "I've delt with them before. They do not feel pain or fear."

                "With our time restraints this could be a problem," Kurama aknowledged.

                "How twisted can you get?" Kuwabara furthered, angered by the cruelty dealt to the field-grown humans.

                "Now I fear for home," Ryoko murmured softly. "I hope Hitomi's alright."

                "You got someone in Tokyo, too?" Yusuke asked over one shoulder.

                "Yeah, and I think she'll be in trouble."

                "Like Hell she is! Keiko too! I'll blow them all away with my Shot Gun!"

                "No! We must use our heads," Kurama alleged, gripping Yusuke's shoulder.

                "So you want me to head butt them?!"

                "You can't waste your energy, and we don't need to hurt them anyways. We need a way around them."

                "What does that have to do with head butting them?!"

                "We can get a few people in," everyone turned to the small, goth, speaker. He strode forward, looking up the tower. "Set your eyes on the second story window. We have our door."

                "How do you propose we get there?" Asuka asked, walking forward a bit.

                "I have a plan."

                "What does it have to do with head-butting them?!?"

                "Are you sure you three want to do this?" Hiei asked as he looked over the group. Ryoko, Yusuke, and Shizuma nodded. "Right. The idiot goes first. Then Megumi. Then Taiho. Got it?" As everyone nodded, Hiei turned to Kuwabara. "Go."

                "Alright," Kuwabara called over one shoulder as he rushed forward, "but don't dig your heels in, alright?" He stopped talking as he barrelled through a few vegies and came to a knee-skidding stop, clenching his fists and setting his muscles. Kurama followed, jumping and landing hard on his back, one foot on each shoulder. Hiei followed, standing as squarely on Kurama's shoulders, then Yusuke, who took a step off of each person. Reaching Hiei, he jumped as far as he could as the small tower started to fall forward. Barely gripping a handhold on the ledge, he dragged himself up, looking over the side. Hiei, then Kurama, jumped off, leaving Kuwabara to fall flat on his face. Next, Megumi ran forward, setting herself simaler to Kuwabara. Aoi, Asuka, and Azumi stood on top of each other's shoulders, waiting for the last person. After a slight pause, Ryoko rushed forward, landing a square foot in Azumi's back, before propelling towards the window, which she landed in expertly. Taiho, then Kunugi, ran forward, doing as what had already been done a few times. Shizuma, getting a firm start from Kunugi, flew forward, into… a wall.

                "I geuss we weren't tall enough…" Taiho said simply as Kunugi jumped off him. Everyone watched Shizuma slide down the wall before Ryoko and Yusuke waved.

                "Alright! We're going now! Don't bother to send anyone else, okay?" Ryoko called as she followed the impatient detective. Everyone looked at each other, then at the numerous veggie people. 

                "Well, this will be fun," Kunugi grumbled, before walking forward. "Just don't hold back."

                "That's not hard to do, you now," the Kiribayashi master admitted, slicing through a few veggies. They all continued to fight. 

                "So, any idea how tough this guy is?" Ryoko asked as she and Yusuke ran up a spiral staircase. "Or when these staircases end?"

                "No to both."

                "Darn."

                "But do not worry, friends. You will not be in suspense much longer!" A voice cried from above slightly as they came to the top of the staircase. They stood before the ever-annoying Suzaku. He smiled just a little, his blond hair flowing slightly in the breeze from the window, his front-most bangs dipped in red paint. Ryoko pulled her katana forward.

                "Let's not waste time on pleasantries, eh?" She asked as she moved forward just a little. Yusuke rushed ahead of her, punching for him instantly. Suzaku dodged with ease, coming to rest behind his chair, whistle in hand. This was not your everyday whistle, like the one the annoying P.E. coaches use. No, of course not. This was more like a green flute, with a large, spiked bulge at one end. He held it up.

                "This is what you want, I suppose?"

                "Duh. We would think it obvious that we didn't come for a cup of tea," Ryoko countered. He nodded. 

                "As I would expect."

                "Where the heck are all these coming from?" Megumi snapped as she knocked them out one by one next to Kuwabara. He punched and elbowed a few as she spoke.

                "They must have millions underground. Maybe they were keeping them for a moment just like this," Hiei surmised as he fought next to Kunugi. Everyone seemed to have made a little pack in the middle of the mob of cultivated humans. Suddenly, a large creek was heard behind them. Everyone stopped for just a moment.

                "Don't tell me that's what I think that is…" Asuka asked, holding her head. Next to her, Kurama nodded. "Damn…"

                "We will not be held by a mere door!" cried the hundred someodd demons from before. "Ha!"

                "Oh, stuff it! JUST STUFF IT!" Azumi snapped, her patience wearing thin. She could deal for any amount of time with a human, but these demons were wearing her last nerve to the bitter end. "Eat my kiribayashi!" And with that, she, Hiei, and Kunugi started on the new squad of demons.

                "Argh!" Yusuke cried as a particully large blast of ki burst from Suzaku. Stepping backwards, he left room for Ryoko to plunge in. Her sword whipped through the air, catching Suzaku's right arm. Swinging past her, Suzaku continued to fight Yusuke. After only a moment's hesitation, Ryoko jumped in again, driving the quicker Suzaku away from Yusuke. With his breath caught, Yusuke took aim as Ryoko dived at the ever-persistent punk and the obviously versital blond jumped high into the air.

                "You know what the bad thing about being in the air is? You can't dodge nearly as well!" Yusuke shouted, aiming a large Rei Gun at his opponent. Suzaku deftly punched the attack away, coming down to rest on one knee. The deflected ball hit the ceilling, making a skylight. Standing with one hand up, a large lightning bolt stuck the blond's hand, illuminating it.

                "He can't hold lightning! No one can!" Ryoko called, angry. Her enemy snorted. Pulling back the hand with the electricity in it, he aimed it forward at them.

                "Storm of Torment!" A bolt of ki and pure voltage raged between them, seeming to miss. A large beam of energy raced to either side, knocking into the two fighters. With a scream of anguish, the two fell to their knees. Gasping for breath, they fell still.

                "This is good, _really_ good," Megumi noted to her gothic friend. He looked up suspiciously at where the flash had come from before. The watch tower seemed in one piece, except for a large hole in one side.

                "So they die at last," Suzaku stated coldly, looking down at the prone figures. "Of course, no human could ever survive that attack."

                "Oh, why couldn't you have waited and used it on them later? I wanted to see them suffer!" cried his green bird, who flew to his shoulder.

                "Oh, and they didn't even see the main attraction!" He cried suddenly, turning to the screen behind them. It lit up, showing Keiko, dragged by Botan, running through a school courtyard.

                "Botan! Please, wait!" Keiko gasped, falling to a knee. She had been running for far too long. She was tired from the unethical chase. Since when did teachers suddenly decide to kill their students?

                "No! Come on, there's a school up ahead! We can hide in there!" Botan cried,  help ing to pick Keiko up and move her forward. After a moment, Keiko nodded and started again, dodging through a door, below a sign for Daimon High.

                She moved only barely, her head pounding. _Where…?_ She sat up, looking at the man in front of her, standing before a screen. Her mind froze. He meant something, but…

                "Suzaku! She's awake!" A green feather fell past her face and the tall man turned to look down at her.

                "Shes… alive! Impossible! No human could-" He stopped dead sentence as she stood up, looking him in the eye.

                "You… will not get away with this!" She cried, all emotion poured into a single sencence. Pulling her katana from beside her, she dodged in, striking him firmly across the temple. Falling backwards, he tripped over his chair and bone met stone.

                "I think… that hurt." Ryoko turned and looked at the owner of the voice, who could barely stand.

                "Hurt?"

                "The English language isn't good enough to describe the pain."

                "Ah…"

                "And you?"

                "Fine, of course. A samurai is always fine."

                "Of course."

                "Energy?"

                "Not much." Suzaku moved behind them as they spoke, sitting up to glare at them.

                "I don't know what you are, but normal is not the word."

                "OF COURSE!" They cried exasperatedly.

                "I believe you are starting to be a bother," his voice echoed around the room, and he stood up straight, then crossed his arms and started to chant.

                "That's bad, right? I mean, they're not supposed to do that, right?" Megumi asked as a group of demons were sitting around a small fire, and from the smoke, dragon seemed to be forming.

                "You're right. That's not normal…" Hiei admitted as the dragon turned on them.

                "Bad is an understatement…" Azumi informed them as they turned to it.

                "Seven!? Seven Suzakus!?" Ryoko cried, backing up until she was level with Yusuke, who nodded.

                "I believe you counted right."

                "Prism of Seven Black Magic Technique!" The middle Suzaku announced as the others took fighting stances. 

                "And don't bother trying to find the original, it won't help you at all!" Another cried, as they all jumped into the air simontaniously.

                "I'm sure you'll remember this. STORM OF TORMENT!" Ryoko and Yusuke dodged the oncoming rain of power, except, of course, one hit each. They stood slowly.

                "How can you be alive?! I do not know what you are, but you are not human!"

                "Doesn't matter, I've still got enough energy for seven! SHOT GUN!" Yusuke cried, forcing all of his strength into a blast which knocked down all the Suzaku's. "And I was right. Enough energy for seven, and that's about it." Yusuke just barely closed his eyes as a foot caught him in the side. He rolled over, a grunt of pain escaping him, as Suzaku stood above him.

                "Hm. Fool. You failed in killing all of me at one time. This will prove your downfall."

                "But, he-" Ryoko stated, still standing, as Yusuke managed to get to his feet.

                "You're just as wasted as we are!"

                "Not necesarrily." Closing his eyes and tilting his hands towards each other, he called the souls of the other Suzakus to him, healing his wounds.

                "The others…" Ryoko managed softly, pity escaping her throat.

                "I hope you didn't like them. But if you're really insistent on seeing them again…" Suzaku settled in for another Prism of Seven. Yusuke fell to his knees as the energy blew him and Ryoko back against the wall. They fell to the ground again as the screen in front of them changed as Keiko and Botan walked in on the still studying Hitomi, just as the teachers there became infected.

                "Hitomi!"

                "Keiko!"

                "So, you see? I told you resistance was futile. You are wounded, your friends are about to follow." Suzaku smirked with glee. The other six of him dragged the two almost immobile forms, still on their knees, before the brain of the group.

                "You are no ordinary humans. If you agree, you could work for me, become a fighter for the demons. All you would have to do is eat the hearts of the people you see on the screen," Suzaku disclosed. Ryoko and Yusuke glared at him from under their bangs with utter hatred.

                "Like Hell!" Ryoko mused coldly.

                "Bastard!" Yusuke snapped.

                "Then you may watch your friends die at the hands of their teachers!" As he spoke the Mr. Takanaka and Mr. Iwemodo, brandishing brooms and scissors, cornered Botan, Hitomi, and Keiko in a room. 

                "Isn't this just such a great movie? I love horror genre!" He cried, cackling, before attempting to do the theme music for his "movie." After a few moments, the door burst in and, upon seeing a little bit of Keiko's scarf sticking out of the cabnit, banged it into shreds. Ryoko's eyes watered and she stared at the ground, while Yusuke's fogged over.

                "Alright, who's taking on the dragon?" Asuka asked as she and most of the others backed up. The veggie-humans were gone, but a few demons and their smoke-dragon still lived.               

                "I'll do it," Shizuma admitted coldly, walking forward, pulling back a wrist. "INFERNAL TIGER!" His voice rang through the stone, air, teeth, bones. A large tiger, seeming to be made completely out of flame, rushed the dragon, bowling through him and the last of the demons.

                "Why didn't you use that before?!" Megumi cried, outraged on her holding-out comrade. Shizuma turned around, wobbling a little, his eyes swirrling slightly.

                "Ssslide efffectets…Sido tofects…Cid defects…"

                "Ea~t this!" Keiko cried as she, Botan, and Hitomi stepped out from behind the curtains, brandishing brooms, and a mop. Banging their teachers over the head, they left the room, rushing down the hall. 

                "What? That's impossible!" Suzaku cried, watching the scene. Ryoko's head snapped up in time to see Hitomi and Keiko running just ahead of Botan down the halls of her school. Yusuke started to laugh.

                "I think your movie's a flo~p!"

                "It's rude for the forfeit to laugh!" Suzaku answered, drawing a finger to Yusuke's head, brandishing imense power through it. Yusuke screamed in agony. Suzuka pulled his other hand to Ryoko, who reacted simialerly.

                "The door's free!" Diasaku cried, pointing towards the now unguarded tower door. Racing through, he and the others found another staircase, with even more veggie-people.

                "We'll never cut through in time!" Kuwabara called angrilly, looking up at the growing number of visible veggies. 

                "Late hands are better than none," the phylisophical youko replied. Hiei paused, then looked back at those behind him.

                "Let's… not waste more time!" With that, he and the others began again.

                "No, Botan!" Keiko and Hitomi were heard to have said. Ryoko and Yusuke could barely look up as another teacher obviously got the better of Botan. Whacking her across the head, she fell into a heap in Keiko's lap. Hitomi stood above them, bradishing the broom. Two teachers behind them raised scissors to strike in their backs.

                _I…_ Yusuke thought, pulling on his last reserves of strenght.

                _…will not…_ Ryoko's eye's glinted with an energy from her very soul.

                _…give…_ Yusuke and Ryoko began to glow.

                _…UP!_ With a single blast of power, the two of them blew back the two Suzaku's holding them down. They stood up, Ryoko to Yusuke's right, their unnaturally glowing eyes narrowed.

                "They're.. using the life energy from their souls! But it will kill them!" Suzaku shot a look at the screen. "For a girl?! They'll risk their lives for a girl?!" Suzaku turned his attention back to his adversary as Ryoko raised her left arm in time with Yusuke's right. They stood almost back to back, glaring down the length of their arms. Focusing their new-found soul energy in one spot at the end of their arms, they pushed it towards the Suzakus in every direction while Suzaku aimed with Storm of Torment. A large blast shook the tower. "I don't care what you are! Whatever you may be, I will destroy you!" He jumped, and they followed, their battle cry flowing from mid-flight.

                "**_DIE!_**"

                "Look!" Xiaoxing cried, as she and the others reached the tower. Ryoko and Yusuke fell from the ceilling, the seven Suzakus falling as well. 

                "I can't sense their life energies!" Kuwabara cried, running forward. Stooping down next to Urameshi, he placed his hands on his back. "I told you that we'd leave this thing together, Urameshi!"            

                "But, Kuwabara, you could…!" Kurama cried, running forward, just as Kuwabara fell over. He sighed. "Looks like we'll be carrying them out on our backs like you said."

                "Babysitting…" Hiei answered his friend softly. A rustle from a stack of rocks nearby proved to be the final Suzaku.

                "I admit defeat, Yusuke, Ryoko. I did not loose to you because you weren't human… but, because you were…" And with that, Suzaku, the final saint beast died. Ryoko grumbeld from a rock pile nearby.

                "Help, here, please."

                "Yes, of course!" Asuka cried, as she, Azumi, Aoi, Megumi, and Xiaoxing helped pull their comrade from the rubble.

                "That…hurt." Ryoko noted dryily, barely able to stand. The green bird flew down again, pausing in flight before Suzaku, before suddenly erupting in a burst of light. A lady stood where the bird had been moments ago, clad in a green feather dress. Tears rolling down her cheeks, she knelt beside Suzaku, placing a ball of light above his head, watched it soak into him, then vanished. _My love…_ Suzaku's eyes opened.

                "DAMN!" Ryoko cried, stepping backwards as he sat up, looking dangerously at her, then at the person nearest him, Xiaoxing. Pulling back his arm, his mouth opened and an all-too familiar cantation started again.

                "Storm of-" He stopped mid-sentence as a small, blue serpentine-dragon stepped in front of her, glaring daggers at him. It hissed then crawled onto the shoulder of Xiaoxing.

                "And that is…?" Megumi trailed curiously as Hiei's eyes widened.

                "The reincarnation of Seryu, I believe."

                "Fine. If Seryu will take up with your lot, then so will I. Seryu always had better insincts than me." Everyone looked around at each other, and firmly face faulted.

(*DONE!!!!!*)

A/N: he, he, so, hn, not done…


	7. DS Saga IV Part I Enter, Rinku!

                Saga IV ~ The Dark Tournament (Ankoku Bojutsukai)

                Chapter I ~ Entrance and Kuwabara vs. Rinku

                A.N. - To save time, space, sugar, and my hands, I'm just going to make passing mentions of the actual battles that happened in the show. Also, there will be a TON of guest-fighters/speakers. The teams will have eight each, and two substitutes. I'm going to have Koto, Kyo, and Yuki doing the play-by-play. Oh, and none of this was prepared…nothing prewritten at all… Right, on with the show!

                "What do you want, Urameshi?" Ryoko groaned aloud, slipping farther down in her seat on a bench in the park. She had been trying to find some peace and quiet all day, and this place had been nearly deserted, so…      

                "We've been invited to the Dark Tournament, but we need three more contestants. Namely you. I was hoping you could talk some of your Shinsengumi into it," Yusuke answered, the punk tone still filling his lungs with hot air; either that or his head, anyways, was filled. Ryoko stretched limberly, the joints in her shoulders popped and creaked from sitting in the wooden bench for so long. She looked him up and down once.

                "Reikai Tentei we may be, but the Shinsengumi runs their own show, as a group. So does Shizuma's pack. I'll do what I can, however, you may be getting more than you bargained for, asking for help from us." With a final smirk crossing her lips she turned and started walking away. "What day is it on?"

                "We meet here," he laid a small piece of map down on the bench as he spoke. Ryoko turned to watch him walk away, before picking up the slip.

                "Well, I've got a few people in mind for this one…"

                "Ah, there you are. I knew I'd find you eventually." Ryoko's voice seemed to echo in the small chapel, the rows of satin seats doing nothing for the returning sound. Aoi kneeled before the alter, hands clasped. She stood slowly, turning to find Ryoko standing in the border of the doorway.

                "Yes?"

                "The Reikai Tentei have a mission. I want you to ask the other competitor, G, to come with us. If you don't mind, that is."

                "Of course. But, if I may ask, why have you chosen me?"

                "This is going to be a long, bumpy ride together, I want everyone clutching each other while holding their stomachs in to know each other. You know the park near my school? We can meet there."

                "So, sweetie, what're you doin' in a place like this, eh?" A punk asked, leaning over as Aoi strode past, not even acknowledging him with a backwards glance. "Hey, girl!" Here eyes were already set on the man in the corner, gang-like, relaxed but ready, and…

                "You are known as G, correct?"

                "You could say that." His eyes lifted to hers before he answered. "What of it?"

                "The Reikai Tentei require you assistance. Ms. Mitsurugi sent me."        

                "That makes sense. What for?"

                "A tournament, of sorts. With people like we dealt with before."

                "Ah. I see. More-"

                "We wish for you to come at Yusuke Urameshi's invitation, as well, and Hiei, Kurama, and Kuwabara would be obliged, too."

                "…I'm there. When?"

                "Tonight, at the Shotokan park. Near the center, there's a clearing just off the path. That's where we'll meet." She turned to leave, just as his hand caught her arm. 

                "We're going to the same place. Wait a moment, and I'll come with you."

                "You're here, good. I was wondering who Urameshi had chosen." Hiei noted coldly as G, Aoi, and Ryoko walked up, meeting his eyes.

                "He's late." Kuwabara noted dryly, looking back the way they had come as Urameshi emerged.                

                "Not that late."

                "Who's the mummy guy?" Kuwabara asked, leaning over to stare the small, warded person in the eyes.

                "Our final competitor. We've got the eight, now. Let's go."

                "I don't believe this will be a joy ride," Ryoko noted dryly; she looked up at the ship that pulled in as the many demons walked onboard, and they followed.

                "No one said it would be," Yusuke noted, his tone empty of all save sarcasm.

                "It matters not." Hiei shot the worrying humans a look. "The fittest survive. Kurama and I have proven ourselves to fit into that category."

                "And the rest of us?" Ryoko asked, amusement tinting her voice.

                "Will have to prove that you don't need to be babysitted." Yusuke, G, and Ryoko all smiled, Kuwabara looked affronted and started to speak and the seemingly emotionless Aoi placed an apple in his large mouth.

                "MTHWHWGGR!"

                "Right, whatever you say, kid."

                "TTHRWWWWRRRGRRRRMMMWWTH!" Kuwabara called around the apple.

                "Yeah, that made sense." Ryoko's eyes rolled.

                "However…" Hiei trailed off as he drew his sword, then disappeared into a flash of red-black with Yusuke, showing more slashes than actual bodies.

                "Wow, I can barely tell where they're moving!" Kuwabara groaned in exasperation as he watched them unblinkingly. Ryoko shook her head.

                "If you're having trouble now, we may have trouble later." Ryoko looked down at the fight calmly until Yusuke caught Hiei's sword.

                "I see your social skills are improving, Hiei."

                "And you seem to have practiced a little." He stood straight a moment, before disappearing, creating a blur involving Ryoko this time.

                "He's just the competitor-tester today, isn't he?" Yusuke asked of Kurama, leaning back on his heals.

                "Quite. He appears to take control of the team when you do not."

                "I suppose…"

                "He is only assuring our win, nothing more." Aoi noted without emotion. They stopped suddenly, Ryoko's bakken at Hiei's throat and his katana at hers.

                "You have seemed to train, as well."

                "Of course, what do you take me for?" Ryoko asked coldly, withdrawing her blade and replacing it in her belt.

                "Wait, where'd Hiei go?" Yusuke asked suddenly, looking around. 

                "There! There he is!" Ryoko called, pointing at a particularly pointy shadow.

                "No, that one!"

                "No, I'm sure he's here!"

                "I just saw him there!"

                "Yes! He just went that way!"

                "I lost him…"

                "Of course you would! There!"

                "Hiei, when are you going to tell them where you are?" Kurama asked Hiei over his shoulder as he stood still in his shadow.

                "When they're no longer so amusing."

                "THERE!"

                "No, dimwit! THERE!"

                "I'm sure I saw the shrimp there!"

                "The teams will be decided by a single battle, one combatant from each team against all the others in a free-for-all match." The gaudy captain called, waving the demons forward as the Urameshi team looked amongst itself.      

                Aoi shrugged from her place atop the railing, and G sighed deeply, wondering if they would force him to move, as the wind here was just perfect… Hiei looked down at the sweating Kuwabara from the railing and Kurama smiled slightly just as Ryoko jumped down from her spot, aiming towards the ring that had popped out of the ground.

                "Well, I guess a man should take care of this!" Kuwabara called fiercely, walking forward just as a large crowd of tall demons passed, calling out passing remarks in their shrill voices. "Uh… They do look quite a bit larger when they're right next to you…" He looked up as a particularly knarled one lumbered past before he laughed nervously. "Well, that's good! And, since they're all calling for him, we should have the team captain do it! Hey, Urameshi! WAKE UP!" This was accompanied by random shaking of the poor boy, who was still sleeping against the railing. 

                "That won't work." Kuwabara's head shot up at Kurama's words. "Whatever training he went through has left him exhausted. Let him sleep, he probably needs it."

                "Yes, let sleeping dogs lie," Ryoko noted as she stared off into the other end of the ship.

                "Dogs?" Kuwabara asked skeptically.

                "Yes. Doesn't he remind you of one, the way he's so loyal and protective to the girl of his? A black lab', to be sure."

                "I see where you're going… Although, I doubt I would have come up with that," Kurama noted, amused.

                "Yeah, labs don't have such a short temper, either."

                "And the rest of us?" Hiei asked in his cold voice.

                "You'd be a black cat, Kuwabara would be a golden retriever, and Kurama would be a fox, of course." Kurama winced and sweatdrop as Ryoko laughed and waved a finger. "Now, tell me that doesn't fit, Kurama!"

                "It fits better than you know…" Hiei grumbled as Kurama rubbed the back of his head. The masked fighter strode forward, walking past everyone to the ring.

                "It seems we have a volunteer." Kurama's knowing smile grew as the small competitor jumped up to the ring. 

                "Aren't you worried that he might lose?" Kuwabara asked in confusion.  Hiei shook his head.

                "If he loses, we'll just kill off the rest of the demons, and no one will care." Kuwabara's eye twitched at Hiei's revelation and Ryoko shrugged. 

                "Whatever. You know demons better then the rest of us, I suppose. Do as you please." Within a few moments and a flash of light, all the creatures had been knocked off, into the water, by what looked like the shotgun. Kuwabara stared.

                "Whoa! Whoever this guy is, Yusuke taught him the Shotgun!" Kuwabara leaned over, his mouth hanging open as the fighter strode back to stand before them. "Hey! Why don't you take off that mask so we can congratulate you!" In answer, she pointed over his shoulder, where, upon turning, Kuwabara an the others found a score of unhappy, pumped-up demons, threats already flying. Ryoko jumped down from her place on the railing, as did Hiei, and G joined them, while Aoi continued to stare out to sea.

                "If we kill you worthless humans and traitors now, we can get onto the island and no one will be the wiser!" A short, plump, pink demon called out.

                "It seems they've stolen my idea. We'll make them pay very dearly for that." Ryoko shot the small demon a curious look as Kurama pulled a rose from his hair.

                "Of course." And the four of them disappeared into the crowd, leaving Kuwabara behind.

                "Hey, wait! Umph!" He fell forward as a demon latched onto his back. "Stupid team mates!" A minute later, the deck was covered in demon parts and blood, with only a small handful left. 

                "Aoi! Look out!" Kuwabara called uselessly as she failed to notice him, or failed to respond. A group of five turned on the still-sea-staring Aoi, who hardly seemed to notice as the first rushed at her, until she leaned over slightly, so that his leap took him over her head, while the next one jumped and aimed a kick at her, she leaned to one side, and he flew by and off the ship as well. The last two dived at her, but she jumped and landed on the railing again after they had passed. The final one ran towards her as well just when she stepped down from the side, and she sidestepped him, leaving him tangled in his own feet and to knock himself out on the metal bars, which he did soundly.

                "Alright. I suppose she'll be of some use." Hiei's cold tone reached Aoi and she looked up curiously as Ryoko made a swipe at the small demon. Yusuke snored loudly, drawing everyone's attention.

                "Must have been one heck of a training thing, to sleep through all that…" Kuwabara muttered in astonishment.

                "Why would it have to be a good one? You almost slept through this whole thing on your feet, without working at all."

                "Like I care what you say, SHRIMP!"

                "Obviously, you do, or you wouldn't get angry."

                "Shut up!"

                "So, we're staying here?" Ryoko asked as she looked upwards at the tall hotel. Even as tall as she was, which had helped, in part, with her boy troubles, she could only see the top by leaning back quite a ways.

                "Why not? We are the 'special guests', you know." Kurama smiled, showing off commercial-level-white teeth. "Might as well get the royal treatment before they kill us off."

                "Are we going in, or just talking about it?" G asked impatiently as Kuwabara trundled forward, Yusuke over one shoulder, still asleep. 

                Inside, the golden room was filled with richly-dressed men and women, drinking champagne and wine, who stared at the troupe as they passed. 

                "Ah, coffee~!" Ryoko cried happily upon entering their small room, and upon finding the table with a cup of steaming coffee for each of them. Kuwabara threw Yusuke down on the couch and sat by one of the set places, taking his up quickly.

                "I'm surprised none of you are worried over poisoning," Ryoko admitted curiously. Kuwabara spit his coffee out and Kurama smiled.

                "It would be a waste to invite us here only to poison us." Kuwabara shook his head firmly.

                "Never mind. I still don't trust them. I've got aluminum!" Hiei sweat dropped at his comrade's stupidity, before looking over at Aoi, who was sipping her coffee gratefully. Although still curious as to the extent of her skills, his voiced question was cut off by Kurama.

                "Are we missing a cup?" They looked around. Kuwabara's was on the table, and everyone else had their in their hand, except G, who was setting it down on the chair's arm. Yusuke's cup was no where to be seen. There was a slurp sound behind them.

                All save Aoi jumped up, glaring at a small boy seated on the wall table behind G and Ryoko. 

                "When did he get in?" Kurama's voice seemed to echo for a single moment until Kuwabara spoke up.

                "He must have snuck in here before we did and-"

                "Titter, titter. I came in here after you did. Isn't that what good boys are supposed to do?" The boy put the empty cup down on the table and turned it on its side, before balancing on the handle with two fingers. "I heard you were the guests. You guys are so lucky. Oh, and I'm Rinku. I'm a part of the team you'll be fighting tomorrow. I wish I were a guest. You don't have to go to the opening ceremonies or all the meetings about the rules. You just show up and fight! I guess you don't have to learn about the prizes and the final round when you'll be dead soon." The ensuing moment of silence was filled with the gentle sip of coffee from the seemingly oblivious Aoi.

                "I heard the guest were supposed to be special so I got all excited, but you guys don't look special at all. Maybe I can beat you no-hands."

                "Don't you think you're talking too much?" The low, surly voice came from the doorway. All except Aoi turned to find a blond, tall man leaning on the frame. His eyes looked dry from all the bloodshed they had seen.

                "Hi, Zeru. I was just saying howdi-do to our enemies," Rinku called proudly.

                "Enjoy your last night in the living, for tomorrow will see you strongly resembling your coffee cup," Zeru noted in a highly bored tone.

                "What?" Kuwabara cried before they all turned to his just-fallen cup, which seemed to have been sliced in two. 

                "Impending others just because you are frustrated is not very admirable." Aoi carefully placed her cup down. "Destroying a simple cup proves nothing more than your lack of self-restraint, and your anger towards this tournament. Taking this out upon us will only blind you further." She took another sip in the silence before setting it down finally and standing. "You will lose. Fighting us as such will only make it worse. In other words, should you not curb your vicious ego, you shall squander into death." She pointed out over his shoulder. "The door is that way." He sneered, after the initial moment of shock, and left.

                "I'm surprised you didn't say anything back, Zeru." 

                "I hadn't even noticed her until she stood. And the boy sleeping on the couch…"

                "Oh, he's probably just an idiot."

                "I truly couldn't tell if it was just that, or whether he knew we wouldn't attack."

                "Ha! Like the lady said. Worrying about it won't due."

                "That's not what she said."

                "Oh? And what lady were you listening to?" Rinku asked as he turned around. "Of course that's what she said."

                "Nothing like what I heard."

                "Whatever. You're just going deaf, Zeru, in your old age."

                "That is beyond the point." Zeru looked away from his comrade as he spoke.

                "Are you so sure?"

                "This is it, hm?" Ryoko asked curiously as she dragged Yusuke into the bright lights of the stadium. Hiei and Kurama nodded as they shot a look around, the masked fighter (MF) walked straight in the direction of their waiting place, Kuwabara gawked, unheeding of the others, and Aoi ignored them all as she walked straight, while G surveyed the ring.

                "The long-awaited Dark Tournament will begin, as the beginning matches have already been decided. First, our special guest, the Urameshi team, versus the team of Zeru! First contestants, please make your way to the ring!" Rinku smiled from the sidelines and jumped into the concrete ring.

                "Immediately, Rinku has already issued a first-fight challenge!"

                "Yes, even in the Dark Tournament, this is rather brash." Yuki sat down next to Kyo in the stands, microphones already in place. Koto smiled. 

                "Now with the arrival of the last two announcers, we can begin the match! I, Koto will be doing the play-by-play from the most dangerous position in the catastrophe-ridden stadium, the ring itself! Yuki and Kyo Sohma have gratefully taken on the job of play-by-play from the seats, giving you an overview of the warriors from a less… stressful position. And the first match is Rinku versus…!"

                "Kuwabara, the alleged hot head of the Urameshi team, has taken on the first component," Kyo's hyped voice echoed around the waiting stadium. "Rinku, who, at close to three feet high, has been known to-"

                "Opponent. Not component."

                "… Who cares, Yuki?!? _Ahem._ Already, Rinku has gone on the offensive with what appears to be a set of yo-yo's… Who came up with an attack like that?!?"

                "Like what? The yo-yo's, or Kuwabara's sword?"

                "The-!… Never mind, Yuki. Kuwabara is attempting fruitlessly to defend himself with a sword that-"

                "Is doing a fine job of cutting everything else!" Koto cried in outrage as he scarred the ring near her. 

                "Watch out!… Right, Kuwabara is still taking his defense up by swiping, and currently missing, his opponent."

                "Now it appears Rinku might not have to use any other attacks beyond the Serpent Yo-Yo, which is currently overwhelming his competitor!"

                "… Serpent Yo-Yo?"

                "I heard him say it, Cat, why didn't you?"

                "What sort of a stupid name is-"

                "Kuwabara is receiving mass amounts of injuries from Rinku's toys, and it appears he may not last on his feet much longer!" Koto's voice cut through the cousins' and they turned back to the ring.

                "Kuwabara does seem to be on a loosing streak-"

                "-as Rinku ruthlessly ties him up and begins to throw him around the ring!" Kyo stood up, pounding the railing. "Completely ignoring the pain of his opponent, Rink has broken the ground of the ring with the force of Kuwabara's fall!" Yuki stared at his cousin.

                "You _like_ this sort of thing?"

                "Rinku most certainly appears to be winning, hands-down!" Koto's voice broke through again as Rinku ran Kuwabara's body into the ground. "Yet Kuwabara refuses to stay down!"

                "I'm going to get you! You'll be screaming mommy!"

                "Uh! You're like fighting a brick! How many times do I have to throw you around?" He smirked suddenly.

                "It appears that Rinku has devised a finale for this match of round one!" Kyo's voice echoed around the stadium Kuwabara was steadily getting a better view of.

                "Rinku seems to be preparing to drop Kuwabara from great heights in order to end it all in one blow." Yuki said emotionless, earning a stare from Kyo. "And the suspense ends." Kyo's head whipped around.

                "Now, for the final moment! Can Kuwabara pull off a saving stunt in the last moment of his life?!"

                "Obviously. He used his sword as leverage to change his momentum, and to turn in the direction of Rinku for another hit."

                "Alright, look, Rat. If you're going to steal all the good lines, either make use of 'em, or leave them to ME!"

                "With an aerobatic use of his weaving sword, he and Rinku have both made direct-"

                "HITS! Ha! Eat THAT!"

                "…"

                "What, Rat?"

                "… Koto has started -"

                "-the count! Alright, already! Quit with the prolonged sentences and tell me what the deal is!"

                "… Rinku has gotten back in the ring!"

                "FACE ME!"

                "Well, this may not be good…" Kurama noted slowly. Aoi nodded solemn agreement.

                "Yeah, the announcers are in the middle of a row…" G noted in all of his glory. Everyone stared. 

                "Kuwabara seems to be on his feet…"

                "…" Kyo was plainly unconscious in the stands behind Yuki.

                "Oh, that's not good! But you have time to get in the ring, Kuwabara!" Koto cried.

                "Kuwabara has-"

                "TAKEN UP THE FIGHT WITH HIS TEAM MATE!" Kyo cried as he pounced on Yuki. Yuki, however, continued while being used as a semi-punching bag.

                "The counts are coming down, just as Rinku ties Kuwabara down completely! This match is over! The round stands in Rinku's favor, 1-0. Kyo. I ask that you remove your hands from my neck before I begin to dislocate them."

                "FREAKIN' RAT!"


End file.
